Famed British Formula One race car designer Gordon Murray–best known for the sleek lines of the McLaren F1, a rare, $1 million-plus supercar launched in the 1990s–is doing an about-face. Rather than continuing to craft the racers that won him a following among well-heeled car aficionados, Murray is turning his attention to designing a compact, fuel-efficient urban vehicle for the masses. His eponymous design company plans to partner with a manufacturer but retain ongoing responsibility for engineering. Murray hopes the vehicle will sell for about $10,000, a figure big carmakers have had difficulty achieving outside Asia and Eastern Europe.

The three-passenger car, the Type 25, will utilize lightweight materials and its tiny size to shrink operating costs to a third those of an average car. Moreover, the vehicles will be designed to limit carbon emissions during production, Murray says. Ultimately, the company hopes to work with governments to create a class of vehicle that will be eligible for tax incentives because of its low impact on traffic congestion and the environment.

Murray launched Gordon Murray Design in July. But he doesn’t really think of his company as a startup: Fourteen of the 16 employees have previously worked together. “It’s [taking] some of the best talents in the U.K. and putting them under one roof,” Murray says. The company plans to produce the first prototype within 18 months.

Despite Murray’s A-list team, industry experts are skeptical. “No matter how well-known someone is, it sounds pretty naive to me,” says David E. Cole, chairman of the Center for Automotive Research in Ann Arbor, Mich. Cole, a former automotive engineer, says startups like this often fail because of both the difficulty and the huge capital investment involved in mass-producing vehicles. “There’s a difference between making a few race cars and high-volume production,” he says.

‘THE EDGES OF INNOVATION’
INDEED, MURRAY’S project conjures up images of past auto entrepreneurs like John DeLorean or Malcolm Bricklin, founders of storied-but-defunct boutique car companies. Both ventures failed for similar reasons: production delays and high costs. But Jon Feiber, an investing partner at Mohr Davidow Ventures Menlo Park, Calif., and a board member of Murray’s company, says DeLorean and Bricklin tried to compete in existing car classes, while Murray is pioneering his own. Says Feiber: “Gordon will push the edges of innovation.”

Murray, born in Durban, South Africa, designed his first car in 1966, while still a mechanical engineering student at Natal Technical College. After moving to Britain to pursue a career as a race car designer, he took Formula One design to new heights over a span of 30 years.

But it was countless hours spent in snarling traffic around London that spurred him to design the T25. Murray hopes to do more than just engineer an ultra-hip small car–he hopes to produce one that’s green from start to finish. So he’s designing a car that won’t require a new chassis each year when its styling is updated; only the interiors and external sheet metal will need to be changed. Besides production efficiencies, that means fewer pollutants emitted during perennial plant retoolings.

So far Murray has only hand-drawn sketches of how the T25’s curvy silhouette will look. But he knows that game-changing design is essential to launching his eco-friendly product. “You’re not going to get someone out of their Porsche 911 driving into London if people are going to laugh at them,” he says.

Still, Lee Schipper, director of research for EMBARQ, the World Resources Institute’s transportation program, believes Murray’s concerns about reducing emissions during manufacturing may be misplaced because, Schipper says, much more carbon is released during years of driving. But Murray is undeterred: “It’s a complete rethink about how a car is used and built. I’m trying to protect our freedom of mobility for the next 25 years.”
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A BRITISH-BORN Muslim student was found guilty today of a series of Islamist terrorism offences.

Mohammed Atif Siddique, 21, from Alva, Clackmannanshire, provided training material on booby-trap-bomb-making and threatened to become a suicide bomber.

A jury at the High Court in Glasgow took more than eight hours to convict him of possessing and distributing a range of terrorist material via websites and providing instructional material about guns and explosives over the internet.

Siddique, who was found guilty of four charges, sat motionless and looked straight ahead as the guilty verdicts were returned.

Lord Carloway spoke briefly, reviewing the most serious charge, and said: “You have been convicted of significant contraventions of the Terrorism Act, in particular on charge one of having articles in your possession for the commission, preparation or instigation of an act of terrorism.

“The court must take these offences extremely seriously.

“You have no criminal record so I cannot proceed to sentence today.”

Sentencing will take place at the High Court in Edinburgh on October 23.

Siddique was branded a “wannabe suicide bomber” by advocate-depute Brian McConnachie QC.

Documents and footage linked to Siddique during the trial were described as “a call to arms for Muslims” by prosecutors.

“It’s clear from that material that the whole idea was to glorify martyrdom operations which we call suicide bombings,” he said.

The court heard the 21-year-old would log on to internet chat rooms using the pseudonym Ya Ya Ayash a figure famous in the Hamas movement and responsible for a wave of bombings in the Middle East.

Siddique had denied three charges under the Terrorism Act 2000, one under the Terrorism Act 2006 and a breach of the peace charge.

He was accused of possessing and collecting items such as CDs and videos on weapons use, guerrilla tactics and bomb-making which could be used for terrorist purposes.

Siddique was also accused of setting up websites with links to terrorist publications which showed how to use weapons and make bombs, and distributing terrorist publications via links on a website.

He was further accused of causing a breach of the peace at Glasgow Metropolitan College by threatening to become a suicide bomber and blow up Glasgow, as well as showing images of suicide bombers and beheadings.

The offences were alleged to have been carried out between March 1, 2003 and April 13, 2006.

Siddique’s solicitor Amar Anwar said later: “Today Mohammed Atif Siddique was found guilty of doing what millions of young people do every day, looking for answers on the internet.

“This verdict is a tragedy for justice and for freedom of speech. It undermines the values that separate us from the terrorist, the very values we should be fighting to protect.

“Mohammed Atif Siddique states that he is not a terrorist and is innocent of the charges and it is not a crime to be a young Muslim angry at global injustice.

“The prosecution was driven by the state and carried out in an atmosphere of hostility after the Glasgow Airport attack, and ending on the anniversary of 9/11. In the end, Atif Siddique did not receive a fair trial and I will be considering an appeal.”

Siddique’s family, who were sobbing in court, made no comment. ‘MODEL PUPIL’ WHO BECAME FIRST SCOTS-BORN ISLAMIC TERRORIST

Mohammed Atif Siddique grew from a “model pupil” into Scotland’s first home-grown Islamic terrorist.

The 21-year-old was born in Stirling on November 10 1985 into a respected family of Pakistani migrants.

His father Mohammed Snr was running a newsagent shop in nearby Alva, Clackmannanshire.

The Siddique family was one of just a few Asian households in the area, and Mohammed was schooled locally along with his two brothers and sister.

Alva Academy’s deputy headmaster Alexander Donoghue remembered him as quiet, polite and more or less a “model pupil”.

“I would say he was above average in terms of attitude, always wore his uniform and very polite and courteous to staff,” he told Siddique’s trial.

Siddique began studying for a two-year HND in information and computer technology at Glasgow Metropolitan College in 2003. He also took courses in topics such as web design, computer systems and computer networks.

Tutors at the college said his performance and attendance was satisfactory in the first year but declined sharply in the next. One lecturer testified that he “just disappeared” for large parts of his second year.

This period coincided with him becoming more and more religious, and he clashed slightly with his family as he explored his identity as a Sunni Muslim.

The teenager also started to grow a beard, and began attending sessions at Glasgow Central Mosque to learn more about his faith.

His involvement included going off on a two-week religious trip in the summer of 2005 with colleagues from the mosque.

In November 2005 he secured a job at a call centre in Ibrox, Glasgow, and by the time he left in March last year he had been under covert surveillance by the security services for several months.

That operation culminated in his arrest during a dramatic raid on his family home in Alva on April 13 last year.

Siddique had been stopped by Special Branch officers at Glasgow Airport the week before, about to board a flight for Lahore in Pakistan with his uncle.

He was detained and questioned for around five hours at the airport, with officers quickly homing in on his laptop computer.

Although detectives found nothing more untoward than pictures of family celebrations, the computer was seized along with Siddique’s passport and flight tickets.

Almost immediately e-crime experts were put to work analysing the laptop’s hard drive.

Their findings sparked off one of Scotland’s biggest terrorist inquiries.

The dramatic dawn raids saw Siddique arrested and his mother, father and three brothers had their wrists tied with cable during the initial examination of the property.

The search operation eventually lasted for three days, with officers recovering box-fulls of items including a home computer, mobile phone and scores of CDs, DVDs and floppy disks.

Siddique was taken to the high security Scottish Terrorist Detention Centre in Govan, Glasgow, where he was held for the next two weeks and interviewed 40 times.

Officers ensured his every religious need was catered for, providing a prayer mat and allowing time for Friday prayers.

A huge team of police officers and experts was then assembled to analyse and translate some of the thousands of documents and videos that were being downloaded and viewed.

Police chiefs at Central Scotland Police also launched a PR offensive to reassure the local community.

The force’s 60 community beat officers were all briefed about what had happened and follow-up tactics, along with local authority officials, MSPs and MPs.

Scotland’s “Guardian Group” of assistant chief constables from the country’s eight forces was also convened, to examine the potential community impact of the arrest on a country-wide basis.

The investigation saw a house in Bridge of Allan, five miles from Alva, raided on April 24.

His brother Mohammed Asif Siddique and uncles Mohammed Rafiq and Mohammed Niaz were arrested the same day and also taken to Glasgow for questioning.

They were released without charge a few days later, angrily denouncing their treatment.

Officers had meanwhile started on the nuts and bolts of the investigation, printing off literally thousands of documents, watching scores of videos and tracking down former student colleagues, teachers and lecturers of Siddique.

A team of 12 Arabic, Pakistani and Urdu language translators was quickly put together to trawl through the pages of Eastern script.

Around 20 police officers alone at Govan were tasked to manage Siddique’s detention, reviewing his situation every day and preparing the legal case for extending his custody in line with Terrorism Act 2000 powers.

The investigation team eventually grew to around 80 officers in all, with many of them in place until November last year when the Crown’s case was finalised.

Senior offices said the massive amount of material seized ensured it one of the most complex police inquiries yet carried out in Scotland.

Around 6000 witness statements were taken, with 124 witnesses indicted to appear during the trial.

A total of 34 computers and hard disks were examined, from Siddique’s former colleges, Ibrox Library and places of work, and 25 mobile telephones and 19 SIM cards were also analysed.

Altogether prosecutors prepared more than 1500 productions for the court proceedings.

Related topic

- «news.scotsman.com»
http://news.scotsman.com/topics.cfm?tid=758

Apple Inc. («www.businessweek.com»; $122.34)

Reiterates 4 STARS (buy)

Analyst: Scott Kessler

Apple announces service plans for the iPhone that all include unlimited Internet access, visual voice-mail, 200 text messages, and roll-over minutes. Plans are priced at $59.99 for 450 minutes, $79.99 for 900 minutes and $99.99 for 1,350 minutes. This pricing is lower than we expected, especially given the unlimited Internet access, and we think it will contribute to greater demand for and usage of the iPhone. Apple also announces that iPhones can be activated through iTunes, and we think this will mitigate related strains on the company’s customer service personnel.

AT&T («www.businessweek.com»; $39.08)

Maintains 3 STARS (hold)

Analyst: Todd Rosenbluth

AT&T has announced the voice and unlimited data plans to be offered to customers that purchase the much-hyped iPhone, starting later this week. We view the relatively low entry price of $59.99 as needed to offset the sticker shock we see on the handset. We believe the focus on new product should improve consumer demand for AT&T’s data services on the iPhone and other handsets. While we expect a limited impact on second-quarter results, we project data services growing to $1.85 billion, or 19% of wireless revenues in the third quarter, up from $1.5 billion (16.5%) in the first quarter. Our 12-month target price remains $40.

Dell Inc. («www.businessweek.com»; $27.32)

Maintains 3 STARS (hold)

Analyst: Jim Yin

Dell unveils a new line of notebook computers targeted at the consumer market. They feature a sporty design in eight different colors, hi-def video, and a built-in webcam. This announcement, along with its partnership with Wal-Mart Stores («www.businessweek.com»), is part of a strategy to reignite the company’s revenue growth by developing retail channels. We believe Dell will be modestly successful in this effort, but we think it will take several quarters for it to catch up to Hewlett-Packard («www.businessweek.com») in selling in the retail stores. We are keeping our 12-month target price at $28.

BCE Inc. («www.businessweek.com»; $36.88)

Maintains 3 STARS (hold)

Analyst: Todd Rosenbluth

BCE shares are down as fellow Canadian telco Telus («www.businessweek.com») decides not to make a buyout offer for the company, citing inadequacies of BCE’s bid process. We still expect that BCE will conclude its strategic review in the third quarter, likely culminating in the announcement of a sale to private equity. However, the absence of Telus as a bidder could lower the price. Telus’ decision also implies to us that BCE management is taking an unusually active role in the review and might be concentrating less on improving fundamentals. Our 12-month target price remains $36, supported by 3.6% dividend yield.